1. Social Networks: An Introduction to Social Networking and Your Accessible Web Presence Patrick I Smith Webpage/database/Systems Administrator PEPNet-Northeast 6/20/2010

2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFZ0z5Fm-Ng

3. What is Social Networking A collection of people with a shared commonality – Personal social networks share a common friend – Professional social networks, a common profession Ex. Patrick knows Tina who knows Lori or is connected thousands and thousands of other people who know each other

4. Numbers How many people use social networks? – Classmates.com 50,000,000 users – LinkedIn 70,000,000 users – MySpace 253,000,000 users – Facebook 400,000,000 users

5. What networks are out there? LinkedIn Deaf Network Facebook MySpace Deafpals Classmates tagDeaf.com Houston Deaf Network Hi5 Twitter Ning SecondLife And many many more

6. Social Networks are HUGE and growing

7. Social Networking basics “How do I do social networking” – Know the common elements – Find a tool that fits your needs or build one – Create a profile/page/group – Build the content of your pages – Start friending, build a following

8. Know the common elements Media sharing (photos/videos) Messaging and Friends Groups/Networking PRIVACY

9. Find a Social Networking Tool that fits or build one Some common tools and what they are used for – LinkedIn – Facebook – Twitter – SecondLife – Ning

10. LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com) A professional social network where you list your professional and educational background and connect with other professionals you may know. There are a growing number of businesses that use LinkedIn in their recruiting of new employees.

11. Facebook (http://www.facebook.com) Facebook is a social network where you can share personal information that your ‘friends’ can see and comment on. Where you can maintain social contact with any number of people from your life. A user or group can create a group page to social network a group or organization, the same can be done in the form of a Facebook page with minor differences between groups and pages being the total number of ‘friends’ each can have.

12. Twitter (http://www.twitter.com) Micro-blogging service that allows for 140 character text based postings (tweets) delivered to the author’s page and to subscribers (followers).

13. SecondLife (http://www.secondlife.com) A 3D social network that allows for virtual users in the form of Avatars to interact, learn and play in a world of their own creation. SecondLife has evolved into a virtual learning environment that schools have managed to use to teach real world concepts.

14. Ning (http://www.ning.com) Ning is a ‘social platform’ or a tool that allows a user or group to create a social network, allowing for control of what users can join and see and how they can participate in the network.

15. Create a profile/page/group Basically sign up for an account

16. Build the content of your profile/page/group Content drives your network

17. Start ‘friending’ build a following A network of one doesn’t accomplish a lot

18. Make your social network a success 6 Things to be a success – Start small and know your resources – Build interconnections with similar sites – Fill your site with information make it interesting – Invite your supporters first, build your network from within – Stay current/keep the content new – Test the waters and get feedback

19. Accessiblity Accessibility of each social network varies just as do most websites throughout the Internet. Consider your audience when choosing a social network and evaluate the tool based on your audience’s needs. Explore possible solutions for users to give those that need accommodations equal access to the network.

20. Finally your web presence Your “web presence” is the sum total of information about you that you and your ‘friends’ share throughout the social networks. As these networks grow and the connectivity between social networks and various other sites increase the amount of information about you as a participant grows. Bear in mind, each time you make a posting or access a website or even as you sign up for accounts to any number of social networking sites, what information you want to share with the internet community. Think and explore the privacy settings for each social network you join. Learn what these sites do with your information so you can make educated decisions regarding the information you post and share.